When Asha, Dimitri, Ivan, and Karnov returned to the mansion after talking, everyone was outside the mansion. Drenched in liquid that could be rain or tears, they shouted cheers.
The only healer among them ran around busily, shouting, “Those crazy people standing in the rain with burns should be put in jail!” and trying to lead people inside, but no one paid attention to him.
And their eyes quickly turned to Asha’s party. At first, people who were simply happy that a miracle had happened stared wide-eyed at the four of them. The rain clouds twisted strangely, leaving traces in the sky, as if following Dimitri.
Natalya pushed through the crowd and approached. Following Natalya, Lyudmila followed her quickly.
“We were so surprised because it suddenly started raining! Who did something?”
“Dimitri did it. It’s amazing. Dimitri signed with the Spirit of Rain.”
“Uh, huh.”
Asha pushed Dimitri’s back. Dimitri seemed very embarrassed and proud.
“More importantly, if everyone stays outside getting wet in the rain, what should we do? Come inside quickly.”
Lyudmila, who followed Natalya, quickly approached and handed out umbrellas one by one. Originally, the mansion was only for a couple, so there were not many umbrellas.
Lyudmila also seemed tired from last night’s work, but at this moment of a miraculous event when everything had ended, she seemed somewhat uplifted. Asha, who was about to give an umbrella to Dimitri, suddenly tilted her head.
“Dimitri?”
Dimitri’s face, which was filled with pride just a moment ago, now seemed a bit blurry. His face gradually turned pale as if thinking about something.
“…Dimitri?”
Asha looked back at Dimitri in amazement. Dimitri looked at the cheering people at him, Yuriev and Irina among them, and finally at Asha.
Suddenly, Dimitri was swept by a surge of emotions. Belated realization, excitement, fear, joy, horror, and reluctance were all tangled up messily.
Astonished, Asha reached out to Dimitri at that moment, but the rain noise and the cheers of the people covered everything. In the midst of the rain, which had become a trace of the past, a carriage suddenly entered the front yard of the mansion. In the rain, people roared as they saw a strange carriage. Meanwhile, someone got off the carriage.
“Who…”
“Isn’t this a guest?”
“This mansion’s guests should be nobles.”
“We’ve emptied the kitchen here. Yuriev and Irina have nothing to entertain guests now, so what can they do?”
“Didn’t you make bread dough yesterday?”
“What are you talking about? All that dough has burned, so we can’t eat it now. There should be only ashes left now.”
“Sigh. I should have brought out that bread dough first…”
When the first knight to dismount unfolded an umbrella, a blond young man followed suit. And one of the knights shouted in an astounded voice through the murmur of the people.
“Your Highness, the Crown Prince!”
The buzz amplified at the sound and disappeared at once. It was a time when people who noticed that this visitor was really the “crown prince” stepped back and didn’t know what to do.
Yuriev and Irina approached Alexei, calming the astonished crowd.
“Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”
“I heard about the urgent fire and rushed here… but I saw flames extinguishing as rain poured from the carriage.”
“Did you see it?”
Yuriev smiled with relief and looked toward where the children were.
‘Dimitri?’
Asha, who would normally run as soon as she saw Alexei unexpectedly, was now just blinking at Dimitri’s sudden feeling of relief. Dimitri stepped out first and faced Alexei before Yuriev could say anything.
“Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”
“Dimitri, you…”
At that moment, Dimitri, who stepped forward, slowly knelt on one knee in front of Alexei. Everyone held their breath at Dimitri’s sudden action.
The children born into the royal family, except for one, must live a life kneeling before that ‘one person.’
Dimitri had always wanted that ‘one person’ to be his father. He wanted to kneel before him. He had resented his father for not granting that wish, questioning why he didn’t even make an effort, didn’t desire, and had even once ignored such a father.
“…Dimitri?”
Facing Alexei, Dimitri lifted his head to look at him. The raindrops, which had been pouring, were gradually weakening. A few drops ran down Dimitri’s cheek.
Dimitri knew his voice was trembling, but he spoke without hesitation, as if he had anticipated this moment.
“Your Highness, as soon as you arrived, rain poured, and the fire began to extinguish. This is undoubtedly…”
Dimitri didn’t need to continue speaking any longer. People who had experienced tragedy and despair throughout the night but tasted a miracle, knew that the fire had ceased when the crown prince appeared. Many who had lost much needed another light, and the presence of the ‘crown prince, who came with the rain,’ was indeed a perfect light for them. People began to shout praises to the crown prince more fervently than when they first greeted the rain.
Those who lost a lot needed another light. And the existence of ‘the crown prince who came to the people with the rain’ was truly a perfect light for the people. People began to shout praise for the crown prince more fiercely than the moment they first greeted the raindrop.
Alexei and Dimitri were silently making eye contact in between, as the thinning sound of rain and people’s cheers rang through the air.
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
Yuriev, Irina, and Alexei faced each other in the drawing room on the second floor of the mansion.
“Alexei, this is how you grew up. When I last saw you, you were very small and young…”
It was Yuriev, who politely called him “His Royal Highness the Crown Prince” in front of people, but in a space of only three people, Yuriev stroked Alexei’s cheek without hesitation and was tearful.
“Uncle, Aunt.”
Alexei also looked at them with slightly trembling eyes. Yuriev, a face tired and raw from fighting against the fire, patted Alexei on the shoulder.
“You’ve been through a lot under that crazy old man…”
“Yuriev, you shouldn’t say that.”
“…”
“…”
“Ah… no, it’s nothing. Grandfather has also aged a lot. Actually, he wanted to come himself, but…”
“Well, then. How old is that old man anyway? It’s time he aged a bit.”
“Yuriev.”
“Hmmm.”
Yuriev spoke as if it were natural, but Yuriev’s voice talking about his father was also very soft unlike before.
“By the way, how did you get here in just one day? It’s not a short distance.”
“As soon as I heard the news, I left. Thanks to Karnov notifying me quickly. It’s fortunate that the train was ready. If not, it would have taken at least another three days.”
The news of the crown prince personally arriving and exempting this year’s taxes, along with promising ample support through the lord for those who lost homes and fields, had already brightened the faces of the people.
“Dimitri really did a great job. If the fire had spread more, who knows what could have happened.”
When Dimitri was talked about, Yuriev fell silent for a moment before breaking into a soft smile.
“Yes. He really accomplished something great. But, he’s no doubt my brother’s son. I didn’t know it would turn out like this.”
“Taking credit for that boy’s deeds doesn’t feel right…”
“Hahaha! Take his deed away? No, Alexei. That bright kid realized there. Just like my older brother did.”
Yuriev looked at Alexei with a guilty smile. Alexei was wearing a lifelong smile, absorbing the moment.
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
Dimitri, who came out after soaking himself in a hot tub, wrapped in towels and blankets and holding warm milk in his hands, was sniffling.
“Did you catch a cold, Dimitri?”
“No… No, it’s not th,that. Just, h-hachoo! Just nothing.”
“Seems like it is.”
Princess Anastasia put her hand on his back and said.
“Drink all that and go to bed early, okay?”
“Oh, really. Okay.”
Dimitri sipped the lukewarm milk slowly. Watching him drink, his cousin, who had been silently observing, suddenly spoke.
“Why did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Say it like that. People might think it rained because of Alyosha.”
“That’s what I wanted.”
Though he feigned ignorance, hesitant to confess the reason, there was never a time when he could outwit those emerald eyes.
“Oh, really. I just didn’t want the trouble.”
“What trouble could it be?”
“I find it annoying when people pay attention and draw interest for no reason. Since Alexei has arrived just at the right time, I thought I’d let him take all the credit.”
“But you enjoy getting attention from everyone.”
“Not everyone wants attention from just anyone.”
The cheers were undoubtedly sweet. He achieved something. He gained recognition. The praise for their miracle was undoubtedly praise for him.
However, from the moment he observed the joyous faces of his uncle and aunt, who had left the estate, something in him slowly became calm. Why did his uncle and aunt leave? For what reason did that person, intended by the emperor to be the next crown prince, abandon everything and come here? What was his father afraid of, unwilling to even try?
From the moment the joyful faces of the people began to look like a burden, Dimitri felt something. If he had failed, these people would have fallen into despair. The fire might have spread uncontrollably, consuming even more fields, forests, homes, and buildings.
The weight of the emotions of the people in this small village became apparent only now. It felt as if he would be crushed by the currents of those emotions. At the very moment when he realized that this was what his father thought he couldn’t handle, Alexei’s carriage appeared.
When Alexei’s carriage appeared, Dimitri thought, ‘Alexei truly possesses the qualities of an emperor.’ Otherwise, he wouldn’t have appeared at a time like this, to bear his burdens…
“…I didn’t work hard because I was worried about the villagers.”
Even with the sudden and context-less statement, his cousin looked at him with an affectionate face.
“So, why did you work hard?”
“Just… to show off.”
To show that there’s something about me.
To show that I have something special.
To show that I have at least one remarkable quality.
“…You showed it, so it’s fine.”
With her sparkling emerald eyes, his cousin looked at him and said, ‘Amazing, Dimitri!’ And at that moment, he almost got swept away by that expression. Looking at his cousin’s face, it felt as if he had achieved everything on his own. Otherwise, how could she look at him with such an impressive expression?
But he knew that wasn’t the case.
Thank you for the update ❤️ its nice to see those inner thoughts and make more sense why